Garment-hook.



No. 892,855. PATENTED JULY 7, 1908. E. w. LADD.

GARMENT HOOK.

AH'LIOATIOI nun JULY 2:4.1001.

gnuenl oz Qvihmooeo EARNEST W. LADD, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

GARMENT-HOOK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July '7, 1908 Application filed July 23, 1907. Serial No. 385,120.

T all whom it may concern.-

Be it known .that I, EARNEST W. LADD, citizen of the United States, residing at v v ashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful 1mmovements in Garment-Hooks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in a. hook such as forms one member of a hook and eye fastening and particularly to that class of hooks wherein there is provided under the bill of the hook and between the latter and the base or shank of the hook a part or member, or parts or members for closing the hook opening, but which are capable of being sprung aside to permit the en gagenient or disengagement of the eye This class of hooks is commonly known as hump, or look, or bi-lock hooks and while they serve quite eil'ectu ally to retain the eye when engaged or hooked they are nevertheless open to the serious objection of being extremelyaliflicult to unhook, which oftentimes results disastrously to delicate or fine fabrics.

The object of my invention is to construct the hook in such a manner as to utilize a part of the force exercised when gripping the hook when about to unfasten the same to compress the spring lock means, whereby the eye may pass readily from the hook without straining the fabric or causing any annoyance or inconvenience, such as commonly experienced in the manipulation of the members of the hook and eye fastening of the hump lock type to effect disengagement or separation thereof.

The results aforesaid are accomplished by a compressible extension of the hump lock forward of the bill and elevated from the plane of the shank and adapted to receive pressure about at a right angle to the plane of said shank when gripping the hook so as to move the hump away from the bill and provide a passage for the easy exit of the eye when it is required to remove the latter from the hook as in the opening of the fastening.

A further purpose of the invention is to improve the construction generally of the type of garment hooks having a hump look so as to render the same more desirable and to enhance their value and increase their utility without in the least detracting from their retaining qualities to prevent casual opening or disengagement of the hook and eye members of the fastening when applied to garments and engaged to fasten the same.

For a full umlerstanding of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction and the means for effecting the result, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings.

vi hile the invention may be adapted to dili'erent forms and conditions by changes in the structure and minor details without departing from the spirit or essential features thereof, still the preferred embodiment is shown in the acconnmnying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a garment hook embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a modification, showing the lock-member hav ing its linger-rest flattened. Fig. 3 is a erspective view of a further modification, showing the linger-rest of the lock-member bent into a coil. Fig. 4 is yet a further modification in which the members of the bill and the rear portion of the shank members are brought together so as to touch at their opposing edges, the hump lock having an end portion rebent and lying in the space formed between the members of the shank. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a garment hook of the bi-lock type modified in construction to embody the invention.

orrespornling and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

111 its general appearance and construction, the garment hook resembles the hook member of a hook and eye fastening of the type provided with a hump lock, whether the latter be single or double. '1. he hook consists of the bill 1, shank 2, attaching eyes 3 and lock-member, the latter consisting of a humplock and a linger-piece. The lockmember consists of a hump-lock -fl and a compressible portion forward of the extremity of the bill and hump-lock forming the linger-rest to receive compressive force when gripping the hook preliminary to dis engage the eye therefrom. The hump-lock 4 terminates about in line with the extremity of the bill 1, and the finger-rest 7 projected forward from the outer end of said humplock is spaced from the shank 2 and is arranged to occupy a medial position between parallel planes passed through the bill and cent to the said eye.

shank. The shank com rises transversely spaced members, and the ock member is arranged opposite'the space formed between the said shank members and forms a continuation of the inner portion of one of the attaching eyes and has an abrupt bend 5-adja hen gri ping the hook, the pressure applied to the nger-rest compresses the same and serves to lnove the hump-lock 4 away from the bill 1, thereby admitting of the eye (not shown) passing readily from the hook in the act of opening or disengaging the fastening. Figs. 2 and 3 are substantially the same as 1, with the exception that the finger-rest is widened. This is effected in the construction shown in Fig. 2 by flattening said extension in a plane parallel with the plane of the shank 2, as indicated at 8, said flattened portion providing an extended rest for the thumb or finger and at the same time rendering the spring lock more flexible or yielding. The upper side of the flattened or widened part 8 may be roughened to prevent slipping of the thumb or finger and may also serve to receive a stamp, design or matter of any nature. As indicated in Fig. 3, the compressible extension forward of the hump lock 4 is bent into a coil 9 which is'arranged in a plane approximately parallel -with the plane of the shank 2 and provides a broad rest for the thumb or finger, as also rendering the springlock tongue more resilient or flexible.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4, the shank members are bent inward near the rear of the hook causing their rear ends and the members of the bill 1 to touch at their opposing or adjacent edges, thereby reducing.

the width of the bill and butt of the hook. The hump lock tongue is rebent, as indicated at 10, the same occupying the space formed between the transversely spaced portions of the shank members and extending from the inner extremity of the hump to within a short distance of the attaching eyes. This recurved extension 1.0 of the hump lock tongue prevents the end near the butt of the hook from injuring the fabric or material to which the hook fastening may be attached.

The hook fastening illustrated in Fig. 5 embodies two humps 4 and 11 constituting a bi-lock. The hump lock 4 has a compressible extension 12 forward of the extremity of the bill 1 similar to the compressibleextension 7 of Fig. 1, and the hump lock 11 instead of terminating short of the forward end of the bill 1 extends so as to overlap the extremity of said bill, as indicated at 13,

wards the plane of the shank 2 by the application of compressive force to the extension 12.

In the several modifications of the invention, it will be understood that the essential feature is the compressible extension of the hump forward of the extremity of the bill so positioned as to be engaged either by the thumb or finger when gripping the hook to effect disengagement of the members comprising the hook and eye fastening, thereby admitting of the eye passing readily from. the hook without necessitating the straining of the fabric or material to which the hook may be attached to effect disengagement of the eye from the hook, and at the same time wholly avoiding the annoyance, inconvenience and vexation commonly experienced in the manipulation of hook and eye fastenings of the hump lock type.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A garment hook composed of a single length of wire bent substantially as specified to provide a shank having transversely spaced members, a bill at one end of and overhanging the shank, laterally extended attaching eyes at the opposite end of the shank, and a lock-member arranged opposite the space provided between the members of the shank and forming a continuation of the inner portion of one of the said attaching eyes and having an abrupt bend adjacent to the said eye, and having its terminal portion extended and lying between and in the plane of the said spaced shank members, said lockmember comprising alock-hump and a fingerrest, the lock-hump closing the space be tween the shank and the overhanging bill,

and the finger-rest being located forward of I the bill and arranged to occupy a medial position between parallel planes passed through the bill and shank.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a garment hook composed of a single wire bent to provide a shank having an overhanging bill at one end, the shank members being transversely spaced for the greater part of their length and having their rear ends and the members of the bill brought together and touching at their adjacent edges throughout their length, attaching eyes at the opposite end of the shank, and a lock-member ex tended upward from the inner side of an eye, thence towards the bill parallel with the shank and spaced therefrom to provide a finger-rest, thence curved to form a lockhump beneath the bill and terminating in a rebent portion extending beneath the lockhump and finger-rest and lying in the space between and parallel with the spaced portions of the said shank members.

In testimony whereof I afIix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

V. B. HILLYARD, W. N. WoonsoN. 

